Morphometric and cytological disturbances of pancreatic islets evoked by congenital portosystemic shunt in dogs.

In 46 dogs with congenital portosystemic shunt (cPSS) histopathological examination of the pancreas, including measuring of the islet area, was performed, and the results were compared with those obtained in 6 control dogs without cPSS. Pancreatic islets were found in 43 (94%) dogs with cPSS and in all control animals. Mean area of the pancreatic islets was significantly lower in cPSS patients (median of 2219.4 µm2, interquartile range [IQR] from 1559.0 to 3146.2 µm2, range from 485.4 to 10333.4 µm2) than in control dogs (median of 8705.5 µm2, IQR from 8284.4 to 9329.2 µm2, range from 7689.9 to 9624.2 µm2) (p⟨0.001). The area of pancreatic islets was weakly, but significantly, positively correlated with the body weight of dogs (r=0.32, p=0.026), but not with the age or sex. Vacuoles were found in the cytoplasm of pancreatic islet cells in 37 (87%) dogs with cPSS and in none of the control animals (p⟨0.001). Their presence was not linked to the sex, breed, age or body weight. Extracellular homogenous eosinophilic masses were present in pancreatic islets in 5 (12%) cPSS patients and in none of control animals. Connective tissue hyperplasia was found in pancreatic islets of 4 (9%) dogs with cPSS and in none of the control dogs. These results indicate that cPSS severely affects the pancreas, as shown by significantly reduced area of the islets, and the presence of eosinophilic masses in the pancreas and/or intracellular vacuoles.

Lipogranulomas and pigment granulomas in livers of dogs with portosystemic shunt.

Lipogranulomas are lesions found in histopathological liver examination in humans and in various animal species, including dogs, especially those with portosystemic shunts. They consist of macrophages and other inflammatory cells, and sometimes they contain iron salts (pigment granuloma). This study aimed at determining the number of granulomas and cellular composition of lipogranulomas in dogs with the congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunt, and to identify factors associated with their development. 44 archival liver samples from dogs with portosystemic shunt were stained using HE, Perl's method and - in randomly-selected cases - immunohistochemically against CD56, CD20 and CD3 (DAKO). A reduction in the size of the liver was observed in all dogs during laparotomy, and the diameter of the vessel circumventing the liver was also measured (in 24 dogs). Lipogranulomas were found in 52.3% of samples; iron salts were present in 47.8% of them; 72% of cells in lipogranulomas were macrophages. In lipogranulomas both types of lymphocytes - T and B - were seen. The presence of lipogranulomas in liver samples in dogs was connected with fatty degeneration of hepatocytes and was correlated with the age of animals and with the diameter of the abnormal vessel circumventing the liver. Their formation appears to be triggered by severe ischemia and shortage of nutrient supply.

Occurence of Bordetella bronchiseptica in domestic cats with upper respiratory tract infections.

Bordetella bronchiseptica is a widespread Gram-negative pathogen occurring in different mammal species. It is known to play a role in the etiology of infectious atrophic rhinitis of swine, canine kennel cough, respiratory syndromes of cats, rabbits and guinea pigs, and sporadic human cases have also been reported. The aim of this article is to present the occurrence of infections caused by these bacteria in domestic cats with respiratory symptoms, as well as to conduct a molecular analysis of the flaA gene B. bronchiseptica for the purpose of ascertaining whether cats become infected with one or more bacteria strains. B. bronchiseptica was isolated from the respiratory system of 16 out of 35 domestic cats with symptoms of respiratory tract infections. Polymorphism analysis of polymerase chain reaction products of B. bronchiseptica flaA was performed to reveal the possible differences in nucleotide sequences of the flagellin gene. The phylogenetic analysis of nucleotide sequences obtained during PCR indicated that the isolates of bacteria from our own studies are characterised by 100% homology of the analysed fragment of the flaA gene, which suggests maintenance of a single genotype of these microorganisms in the cat population. Moreover, the bacteria revealed full homology with reference strain B. bronchiseptica ATCC 4617, and 99.4% homology with strain B. parapertussis ATCC 15311. This indicates that the PCR optimised for the Bordetella spp. flaA gene, combined with sequencing of amplicons obtained in PCR, is an effective diagnostic method allowing differentiation of Bordetella spp. type microorganisms.